Death (Of A Marriage) And Taxes

It's starting to look like tax season, and my head is whirling. There's so much to think about financially when you're divorcing, and it all impacts how you file your taxes.

Luckily, (?) Peter and I aren't officially divorced yet, only separated, so we have the option of still filing married and jointly. Let me tell you, after looking at all we're going to have to figure out after the divorce, I think that's a great idea for now.

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I did find a good article that covers some of the basics, and it gave me a list of things we need to consider. Who is the custodial parent? I'm guessing that's me since I have them predominately, but Peter may still want us to each claim one child for tax purposes. And according to the article, I get to claim all the daycare expenses as the custodial parent – Peter pays half that cost so I know he won't like that.

I already have the money Peter pays me set as "child support" vs alimony, thanks to a tip from a good friend who went through a messy divorce of her own. Child support can't be taxed or deducted, but alimony would count as income for me. I still have to figure out how to set up and then claim the disbursements I'll get from Peter's investment accounts, once the divorce goes through. It's not a ton of money, but I want to make sure I'm not slammed by penalties and taxes I could have avoided.

ï»¿I'm kind of glad we're not divorced yet, to tell you the truth. It gives me a chance to proactively get things set in the divorce decree that might make tax time next year a good deal easier.

Do you have any tax tips for the newly divorced? I'd love to hear them!

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